Furniture Fair Installation / Gert Wingårdh

On view now until February 9th, the installation by Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh at the Furniture Fair in Stockholm suggests a church interior, with rows of high tables in front of an ‘altar’ where panels hold sway. In collaboration with Finnish illustrator Kustaa Saksi, their creative teamwork has resulted in a design that will set the stage for talks on design and architecture at the fair. Starting out from their own perspective while adhering to a shared vision, the entire dome-like structure consists of stacks of paper sheets that hang from the roof in a Venetian blind-like construction. More images and their description after the break.

The table tops are made of a mirror laminate and balance on stacks of A4 paper sheets – 700,000 in total. The lowest sheet in each stack carries part of a gigantic illustration that forms the dome-shaped ceiling. Preparations for construction have been going on for months and the actual raising of the dome is something of a never-ending task.

“From the very beginning, the idea has been to create a spatiality for communication in which furniture and design have a presence in words and images, as well as a physical presence. To explain the concept behind an item of furniture, what you were thinking and how you arrived at the design, gives a deeper dimension to the object. This is something we’ve wanted to focus on more this year and so we’re giving furniture companies a chance to introduce themselves, their products and designers by communicating through a new program item we call Show ‘n Tell,” explains Sanna Gebeyehu, the producer of the project.

“Precision in all the preliminary work is crucial. 1,120 stacks consisting of a total of 11,000 A3 sheets in 44,000 points of attachment are being installed across an area of 200 sqm and are then gradually hoisted up,” reports Sanna Gebeyehu.